Keepers choose names for playful pups

Taronga Zoo’s playful Meerkat pups now have names to reflect their African heritage.

Keepers have named the male pup “Lwazi”, a Zulu word meaning knowledge, while his sister has been named “Serati”, meaning something I love in the Tswana language.

The three-month-old pups are developing fast and can often be seen playing and practicing for sentry duty in Taronga’s African-themed Meerkat exhibit.

“The pups are growing quickly and showing signs of their own little personalities. Lwazi is the bigger of the two and he’s more adventurous and inquisitive, while Serati is quieter and prefers to stay closer to her parents,” said Keeper, Courtney Mahony.

The two pups were born to first-time parents Nairobi and Maputo on 7 January and have been busy exploring since venturing out of their nest box.

“This is all new for them and they learn by observing their mum and dad, so we’re very lucky that Nairobi and Maputo are proving to be fantastic and attentive first-time parents,” said Courtney.

Maputo arrived from Perth Zoo in late 2014 to form a new breeding group with Taronga’s alpha female Nairobi, who was the last Meerkat born at the Zoo in January 2009.

Visitors can see Taronga’s Meerkat family and catch the free keeper talk daily at 11.15am.